Finally, The Vikings Are Taking Acid!

Since its advent, one indelible element in metal has always been the musicians' use (and abuse) of substances. Whether it be Electric Wizard's or Sleep's (and essentially the rest of the stoner metal/rock genre) non-stop smoke-a-thon, Iron Maiden's legendary Herculean drinking, Sigh's use of hallucinogenic mushrooms, or EyeHateGod's use of...well, everything.

As legendary comedian, Bill Hicks, put it, musicians who make the records you love and cherish are “real fucking high on drugs” and Metal is no exception. Despite metal’s historical connection with substance use, starting with none other than Black Sabbath, what I would argue to be “psychedelic elements” have only relatively recently been introduced into many unexpected sub-genres of metal. Keep in mind that I’m not referring to Stoner Metal/Rock because the basis for that entire sub-genre is drugs, so we won’t be addressing that green monster. The primary sub-genres that have recently injected psychedelic elements on a somewhat large scale have been the Viking, Folk, and Black Metal genres.

In the last decade there seems to have developed a fascination of psychedelia within the Black, Viking, and Folk Metal sub-genres. Since the late 90s and early 00s, bands within said genres of metal have been experimenting with their foundational sound. One way they have been doing so is incorporating, only if subtly, the sounds of 60s and 70s psychedelia.

There are a number of bands...Enslaved, Peste Noire, Blut Aus Nord, and more recently Nachtmystium, Drudkh, Nokturnal Mortum who have been experimenting with such sounds.

Since the early 2000s, Norwegian Progressive Black/Viking Metal band Enslaved has praised classic psychedelic/progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson amongst others, whose influence has been more than apparent in their music. They also have openly referred to their use of marijuana in interviews (I can't find the link, but I remember reading a hilarious interview in Terrorizer many moons ago).

With 2010 releases from Ukrainian Folk/Black Metal bands Drudkh ("Handful of Stars") and especially Nokturnal Mortum ("The Voice of Steel"), their music has taken on more psychedelic qualities. On Drudkh's newest release, they seem to have stripped down their sound to essentially a minimalist sound (at least by metal standards). Furthermore, there are definite echoes of 70s guitar rock solos and even an instance of experimental guitar noise. Nokturnal Mortum have an elongated passage in "..." where they combine a bouncing folk rhythm with a 70s era guitar rock solo echoing Pink Floyd.

American bands such as Nachtmystium have acknowledge the psychedelic elements in their music to such a degree that they their 2008 album, "Assassins: Black Meddle, Pt 1", was partially named after the Pink Floyd album, "Meddle". Furthermore, the introductory track "One of These Nights" which even has a similar galloping rhythm to the Pink Floyd track entitled "One of These Days" which opens up the Meddle album. Musically, there are parts of almost hypnotic repetition and even a fucking saxophone solo. Not surprisingly, Blake Judd of Nachtmystium often casually talks about his drug problems in interviews (http://www.nocleansinging.com/2011/05/01/an-ncs-interview-nachtmystium/)

Within French Black Metal bands, there seems to be a far eviler approach to their particular brand of psychedelia. Bands such as Blut aus Nord and Peste Noire have a psychedelic sound that what one might characterize as "disconcerting" and "disorienting". On "The Work Which Transforms God" by Blut Aus Nord, one practically develops vertigo as the guitars swirl with dynamic use of the whammy bar and abstract dissonance. What can be said about Peste Noire that hasn't been said before? In their bizarre brand of black metal, they include birds chirping and French baroque/folk music (complete with accordion accompaniments). I pray every night to Prince of Darkness that Famine won't be committed to a mental hospital so he can continue to make righteously mind-altering black metal.

Who can forget English Black Metal madmen, The Meads of Asphodel? Their use of psychoactive substances (http://www.metalstorm.net/bands/biography.php?band_id=588&bandname=The+Meads+Of+Asphodel) has been documented and is more than apparent in their odd amalgam of Black Metal and seemingly every other style of music known to man.

So what is it about? Why this emergence in an oft looked down upon style of music in Black/Viking/Folk Metal, and hell, metal in general? For me, I often think about metal as a type of music that pushes the musicians and the listeners to a point of sensory overload in more ways than one. Adding psychedelic elements is just a different way that that point of "sensory overload" can be pursued. Rather than pursuing that point through pushing physical boundaries, these bands are pursuing that point through pushing mental boundaries.

I could go on and on about this, but I'll cut myself short while I'm ahead.

Tune in. Horns up. Drop out.

- Judge Dredd

Most UnMetal Band Names

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Interview with Barghest of Spearhead!!!

WULF: How has the reception for this album been so far on your end?

BARGHEST: The reception has been very good so far.

WULF: I would describe Spearhead's sound as relatively straightforward metal, but with allegorical, abstract lyrics and concepts. What were you aiming to acheive with this album, and was this album aimed at a specific audience in particular? Do you feel as if you've accomplished these goals?

BARGHEST: I don’t think there’s a great deal of allegory surrounding the lyrics, and the only abstract conceptions are abstract because they are metaphysical. We certainly planned on making a straightforward album, by which I mean plain-speaking, hostile and belligerent blackened death metal; there’s nothing subtle or equivocal about this album I feel. There is variation in the music - time changes, break-downs, etc. - but the focus was definitely on making a relentless and hateful-sounding album. I think we have achieved this with “Theomachia”. We do not have any specific “audience” in mind when crafting our music – we are not out to please anyone whatsoever.

WULF: While I understand that on "Theomachia" some of the lyrics involve the common misconceptions held by most people regarding ideas like "progress" and "pacifism", I get a strong sense of anger coming from your music as well. Would you agree? Or are you simply attempting to convey these ideas through aggressive music? I guess what I'm asking is how much of a role does actual anger play in your music?

BARGHEST: “Theomachia” is a genuine work of considered and focused hatred, so there is of course an element of anger pervading the music. The lyrics aren’t generally anger- or angst-oriented or anything like that though, yet what is said is done with a degree of force. I think if we were a bunch of hippies or something, with no anger in our blood, we would not be able to create this kind of music with any conviction. And I think you will find Spearhead has more conviction than a lot of other current bands in this genre.

WULF: Obviously, it's important for listeners to have their own interpretations of lyrics and lyrical themes when listening to music, but would you care to discuss the meaning behind the word "Theomachia", and perhaps in general some of the themes and ideas you explore on this album?

BARGHEST: I disagree that listeners ought to have their own interpretation of the lyrical subjects. This seems to be only something for bands with poorly considered lyrics. You end up with a superfluity of meaningless opinions this way – isn’t there enough of a problem with a superfluity of opinions? “Theomachia” (or “war of the gods”) refers to the common mythic motif of a divine conflict that precedes the cosmic or aeonic dissolution. This motif is probably more commonly known as the Norse myth of Ragnarok, but parallel conceptions are found in the Indic epic the Mahabharata, and in the Iranian/Zoroastrian mythos for example, as well as elsewhere. The cosmic dissolution and the declining cycle of ages is also something prevalent in a number of ancient world mythologies and cosmologies. “Theomachia” is all about the inevitable march of decay and degeneration, and the self-mastery that the last man must attain if he wishes not to rot among the ruins of the last age, before the cycle of time continues. But I’m not expounding anything new here – this is old wisdom.

WULF: Your interviews are quite fascinating. Obviously, you are often asked about your musical influences, but I'm curious as to if you are influenced by any specific writers or literature? You're quite well-informed when it comes to history, weapons, warfare, etc. Also, I have to ask if you are familiar with the writings of Robert Greene, author of books like 36 Strategies of War and 48 Laws of Power? Just curious.

BARGHEST: There is a certain amount of literary influences that have found their way into “Theomachia”, explicitly or otherwise. To name just a few direct influences: Spengler’s “The Decline of the West”, Evola “Revolt Against the Modern World”, Machiavelli “The Prince”; and mytho-philosophical works such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Eddas, Hesiod’s “Works and Days”, etc.

I’m not familiar with Robert Greene, but I’ll check him out.

WULF: The artwork for "Theomachia" is great. Would you care to discuss the meaning behind this artwork a bit? Who is the artist?

BARGHEST: The artwork was done by Manuel Tinnemans. I don’t want to go into this here in too much detail, but if you study the front cover you will see some relevant motifs, such as the Kali Yantra, some text excerpted from the Bhagavad Gita (11:32), etc. But perhaps you will be able to interpret yourself the meaning of the distant horizon that is flanked on each side by the trappings of war.

WULF: On a personal level, I must ask...are you or anyone else in the band a fan of wargaming (tabletop, video games, etc.)?

BARGHEST: No, I don’t think so. I used to play the Warhammer games a bit when I was a kid, but I don’t have the time nowadays. If you want to play a classic strategic, war-based board game, and you have a few hours to spare, “Risk” is good.

WULF: What are some future plans for the band? Is touring over here in North America something you're interested in? While I don't feel like a DVD or music video is especially your style, but I could be wrong...do you have any intentions of doing anything visually like this down the road? Also, your previous interviews are always fascinating and you guys definitely have some interesting philosophies and worldviews...have you ever thought about putting out something non-musical, like essays or a manifesto?

BARGHEST: We are currently looking into tour options. Another tour across the US would be good of course, but perhaps not in the immediate future; Europe needs re-conquering first! I can’t see anything like a music video working for Spearhead at the moment. Our standards are pretty high, and we’d probably need an exceptionally high budget to satisfy the requirements a good and appropriate video would entail. We’ll leave this to the MTV bands for now..!

I don’t think I have any real desire to put out an essay or manifesto, because I’m not interested in changing how people think. I am quite happy to let people rot in ignorance. Besides, there are plenty of good books out there for those who disagree with pacifism, modernist values in general, humanitarianism, etc. I wouldn’t be adding anything new.

WULF: Thank you again for taking the time to do this interview! Any final words or comments are yours!

BARGHEST: You’re welcome. Thank you for your support. Svpero Omnia!

------

www.spearhead.ws
www.myspace.com/spearheadofficial

Answered by Barghest 1st Jul 2011.

Interview with Serpent Est of Kaiserreich!!

E-mail interview conducted June, 2011.

http://www.kaiserreich.it

http://www.myspace.com/kaiserreichofficialpage

WULF: Congratulations on successfully executing a great work of black metal art! I know “Ravencrowned” has been out for over a year now, but I am just now hearing it for the first time? Is it being re-released by your new label, De Tenebrarum Principio/ATMF, or what’s going on?

SERPENT EST: Thank you, Wulf.
Actually, Ravencrowned is out now (2011) for the first time ever. We recorded the album in Fall, 2009, and we planned the album for 2010. We had also prepared a video trailer for the album with the 2010 release date. I guess that's the reason why so many guys think the album was out in 2010. We spent lot of time due to the fact we changed the mixing 'cause the guitars were digitally recorded and we didn't like the result. So we had to play the data streaming through analog guitar amplifiers and re-record what was coming out. Then, we spent time in search for a label that was interested in our band, and after lot of time we finally signed with De Tenebrarum Principio/ATMF for two albums.

WULF: I read in an older interview you’ve done with Xag (USBMS) that you felt that at that point in the band’s history you hadn’t had a chance to evolve or develop into a truly elite black metal band. Do you feel like you’ve achieved that state following the release of “Ravencrowned”?

SERPENT EST: Our goal and ideals have changed a lot since the beginning. We really enjoy playing the new songs live and that's a very important thing that most forget about. You should consider that playing again and again and again the same songs is pretty boring. We composed these songs by the end of 2009 and the album is out now, in 2011. We've been playing those songs for a very long time and we'll play them again for the upcoming months but we still like it. That means that WE are satisfied by the album and that's the most important thing for an underground band. If you make money from your music you won't care too much about it, 'cause it's a job. But if you do it just for passion, you need an immediate reward. Our reward is to play something we've done and something we like.
What we're aiming to accomplish is to have a great response from the people who participate in our shows. We would be happy to have good reviews on the net and good feedback from the fans, but the most important thing for an underground band should be the live trial, when you have to play in front of the crowd, taking your energy and theirs and mixing the whole thing into something relevant.
An underground band shouldn't care too much about selling albums, nor about criticism, there are too many website out there and there are too many guys that have no time to waste with minor bands like ours, so they will listen just 30seconds per songs and write a generic good-for-all-seasons review. We are reading lots of bullshit on our Ravencrowned. Someone's telling that our album is nothing but blast-beats, a Marduk-alike thundering strikes, but our album is filled with melody from the beginning to the very end.
Surprisingly, the best reviews we got are coming from U.S.A. and U.K. which aren't supposed to be Black Metal countries...
Of course, I'm not telling you that our album is something memorable. I won't fool myself with such delusions. Ravencrowned is an honest album conceived by an honest band, nothing more and nothing less. But beware of the internet reviews 'cause with this widened community of people, every cunt out there is spreading his own irrelevant truth.

WULF: Unfortunately, the digital promo copy I received of “Ravencrowned” didn’t include the lyrics. Would you care to discuss some of the lyrical themes of the songs on this album?

SERPENT EST: Sure. The whole Ravencrowned album is a concept about the "Kaiserreich", which means "Empire". The concept of the Kaiserreich was first told on a track from our first album which is entitled "Ravencrowned", itself. That track depicts the last chapter of the Ravendom (the Empire). Now we're narrating one of the previous events of this dark-symbolic fantasy which I often explain as a "Tolkienan Mordor mixed with the warlike code of Sparta". The whole story is drenched with honor, sacrifice and loyalty. And death, of course.
To be honest, I like the story I conceived but it's a bit twisted to be followed on the booklet for different reasons. First and foremost my bad English. I didn't spend much time on grammar at school, nonetheless I forced myself to write metaphorical lyrics. I guess that those with English mother tongues will be horrified! But for non-English speakers (which are the majority of the audience) it should work well enough.
Secondarily, the whole story is about a world that the album unveils just a bit. I'm working on a paraphrase of the whole concept in order to bring to light the events. For example, in one line you can hear the phrase “hornless undeserving mob”, which is a symbol of weakness 'cause in this world everyone wields horns on their heads and the horns are a symbol of strength and honor. But there are is no line where this is explained, so the line could be unclear (yet evocative, I guess).

WULF: The album cover is really cool. Who is the artist and how did you get in touch with him? Obviously, the art depicts some sort of infernal creature (or perhaps Satan himself)…would you care to elaborate on this?

SERPENT EST: The artist name is Michal Klimczak, and we found him on the net. He's a Polish guy, very skilled with digital art. The artwork was chosen because of its evocative power and the fact that it's a bit different compared to the underground black metal black/white covers. You can find some of his work here: http://grishnackh.digart.pl/
Without lyrics it's easy to confuse the subject with Satan, but it simply depicts the Emperor, ruler of the Ravendom.

WULF: Can we expect a music video for a song off of “Ravencrowned”?

SERPENT EST: Well, I guess it's probably too late for that. We would love to shoot a video from a song and we planned to do it, but the time passed and now we're already working on the new album. Besides, a video nowadays should be very well planned and executed. A video such as Satyricon's Mother North would be hilarious these days...
We are still interested in some video release, but we don't care too much at this time.

WULF: I’ve read several Kaiserreich interviews, and you always seem like pretty down-to-earth guys. You’ve mentioned that offstage you have many interests, but I was curious as to your literary interests and inspirations. Do you have any favorite writers or authors that particularly influence your music or life in general?

SERPENT EST: Oh jeez! Of course we're down-to-earth guys, we aren't in the '90s! Saying that I don't mean that the 'true black metal bands' have disappeared, I'm simply saying that they didn't ever exist. Nowadays, you can't pose as what you're not 'cause with the net you'll be unmasked in a very short time. Of course there are lot of morons out there that pretend that they themselves are 'evil', but I tell you, no one whose involved in playing music could be really evil.
About our offstage interests I can answer only about myself. Besides my job, which is pretty boring, I'm involved as a screenwriter for a small group of filmmakers named Hive Division. About the literary authors I do not have any preferred name but I'm oriented towards sci-fi themes. No authors have a real influence on my life, I'm a very lazy guy but not so much to plan my life on another guy's words.

WULF: This is a question based solely on my own curiosity, but being a black metal band I’m sure you’ve met and toured with some musicians with quite eccentric and radical personalities. Of all the bands you’ve played with and/or toured with, who would you say is the craziest, or most wild/unpredictable? Does the northern Italian black metal scene have its own share of intense, thriving, underground black metal shows and bands, or is it a smaller, more laid-back collective?

SERPENT EST: The Italian black metal scene is smaller than an ant's asshole! There are lot of bands of course, but most of them aren't that good and, usually, they don't tour too much outside Italy. By the way, the audience is pretty small for black metal bands but I guess it depends on the genre itself. You should consider that the last world-renowned black metal band is Dark Funeral (which has been playing since '93), all the other black metal bands remains confined into the underground scene. I don't think it depends on the decision of the bands to maintain a low profile for themselves, it depends on the diffused lack of interest for this kind of music.
About the guys we played with, you surely understand that I won't give you any single name in respect of others privacy. Nonetheless, we've met some noticeable guys. There were one guy which was completely high on cocaine and he was loudly and CONTINUOUSLY sniffling his nose. On another gig, I asked another band for a mirror to put on corpsepaint, but once I needed it, they were using the mirror to sniff some coke. There are lot of guys in the scene that are devoted to coke as most of people here in Italy. I tell you, these guys are total losers to me. Another guy was cutting himself with a razor blade whilst he was talking to us. He was totally drunken (and probably high) and he was cuttin' his arms with the blood spilling on the ground, then he offered the razor to us in the same way someone could offer a beer. I tell you twice, these guys are losers: misery is a sign of weakness. If someone's unhappy, he should be very unlucky or very stupid.

WULF: What are some future plans for the band? Are there plans for a DVD? What about a North American tour?

SERPENT EST: We'll play in Czech Republic this July, then we'll start recording the tracks of our third album which is already composed. We'll play as more as possible in order to support our new album but we'll play in Europe the most. We also have some contacts for Russia and Mexico but we have to plan it carefully. We would love to play in U.S.A. but we have no contact for such tour. If someone's reading is interested in hiring us, just send us an e-mail!
A DVD would be a nice idea too, but we never record video material of our shows. Again, this is something one should plan a lot before shooting. We refuse the idea to sell a DVD with a single camera placed behind the shoulder of those who's watching the show.

WULF: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me! Any last words or final comments?

SERPENT EST: No way, I've been delighted by your questions. It's great that people like you are spending their time to promote underground bands so, thank you so much. If someone here's interested in Kaiserreich, please follow the link to our brand new website: www.kaiserreich.it

Interview with MkM of Aosoth!!

E-mail interview conducted in May, 2011.
http://www.myspace.com/aosoth616

WULF: While Aosoth is unmistakably one of the most original and infamous bands leading the charge in this recent explosion of excellent French black metal (including other artists such as Deathspell Omega, Blut aus Nord, Peste Noire, etc.), it is stylistically quite its own beast. “III” is also one of the best albums I’ve heard this year. What were you personally aiming to accomplish with this album?

MkM: As a start, see, those bands you did mention, all are very different in their approach, am just very familiar with DSO myself; yet it seems that at the same time or so, we ended up having releases which would have something similar, more than just the geographic origin of the band.
I doubt that there is really an explosion of french black metal (or nothing compared to how the black legions got worshipped) but there is nowadays a scene. And even a scene at a turning point, wondering how things will go.
Just like we do feel like a void after each release, when “ashes of angels” was released, our previous effort... all the events that occured after (the tour with hell militia, personal issues...) all those series of event did create the climax that made the composition of III happen. Nothing is “marketed”, it does depict a moment of time, one sinister moment of time which is still lasting up to now.
As vocalist for this band, I wanted it to be really a performance & exposure. Just like an Art happening.
Right now, I couldnt even say how the future would be for us, if we would do anything. Just like there is no aim for now, there were no particular aim then, just having to let it out, create the most genuine piece of work at this moment of time, exposing ourselves.


WULF: A common lyrical theme of yours is, according to a recent interview with Metal Maniacs, “praising Satan, excess, and (your) own deviances”. If that is the case, then where does all this hatred and rage that is reflected in your music come from?

MkM: Being non reliable, unstable, lunatic, “negative” (while I’d say “realist”)... Any individual who had to work with me at one point or another do know that I’m not the easiest one to work along with. Lots of tension in the air and that eternal destructive desire. I need to harm what is near, I just walk this path and all makes sense that way for me. Having now more distance allows me not to get swallowed in my own stream, there is no one by my side. I just expose what is inside and turn it into an audio experience, be it with aosoth or antaeus or any other act I was involved in as “writer”/performer.
When reading this question, I do realise I never asked this very important question to the other band members in Aosoth, I shall do so soon, just to get an idea...

WULF: “III” is quite a nightmarish listen. The atmosphere on the album for me clearly evokes death, urban decay, abandoned cathedrals, and nightmarish hallucinations. What images or concepts come to mind for you personally when you create or listen to the music of Aosoth?

MkM: The breathing of the other, watching inside the eye of the victim/partner. Stealing moment, making others last long, feeling one with blood and pulse.
That would be how I would feel myself. But that vision you described seems closer to what the other band members are experiencing through III.
Those are two distincts approach : the music on one side, lyrics on the others. Both combined : that gives such result. With another vocalist and different structures and more “song structure” with chorus and so on, that would have been a very different album. I’d really like that to happen somehow, thus I’d keep “III’ just as my own. Really have a special relation to this release, somehow like unique and not willing to let it go.

WULF: In almost every Aosoth interview I’ve read you’re asked about your involvement with The Order of the Nine Angels. While you’ve stated that you’re not an official member, does the Order have a strong following among other French black metal bands Aosoth is associated with (such as Balrog, Watain, VI, Merrimack, etc.)? I’m not asking for any specific names or bands, of course, but I’m curious as to the prevalence or popularity of this organization and the role it plays, if any, in this specific regional scene.

MkM: To this question, I’ll have to say that I do not have a clue at all !!! Watain being swedish btw, and they are more affiliated to the Temple of the black light if I’m not mistaken.
Might come as a surprise to you, but I am really barely in touch with any individuals from the metal scene, or just anyone in general. I somehow did distance myself for a few years. About the ONA, I do not think that many were into this particular order. But then again, I could be mistaken...
Also you do refer to a “regional” scene : well that seems not too accurate in our case since there is no unity in this scene, which is not a bad thing : suits me perfectly that way.

WULF: I’ve read that the lyrics will be enclosed with the physical album. Unfortunately for me, I only have a digital promo copy of the album. Would you like to explain a little about the lyrics and concepts of “III”?

MkM: Indeed they are, both on lp & cd. They were written in a similar state as the lyrics I once did write for “blood libels”, the last antaeus album in date. Thus very personal and more of an “exposure”... the album is not a gathering of songs as far as I am concerned. There is no “sing along” parts or whatever, more of a performance recorded in one take (vocals wise) and being based on a monologue or “silent” dialog in between two characters. Mostly people are expecting lyrics with themas involving magic, satanism... there this is not as “obvious” and not really fitting the genre. Though it still praises & shows devotion towards the worst/best in us.

WULF: Is there any chance that you will supplement this auditory violence with a visual experience, such as a music video or DVD?

MkM: Highly doubt it. First of all, most of our live conditions are so low that capturing such events wouldnt be worth being witnessed. Also the cost for such release is just beyond anything we could ever afford. Took me years to cover up the cost from the antaeus video, which was at first not even meant to be even used. We had ideas about particular images we would have wanted to add to the audio related to III. Just do not think any of this will ever take place. Even having “band promo picture” is quite impossible, so a video !!

WULF: Now that Antaeus is more or less on hold indefinitely, do you have any other bands or projects you are involved in besides Aosoth?

MkM: No time for anything else at all. Each album is a sacrifice, takes a lot of time and implies involving yourself fully in it. Antaeus will just perform two gigs in the coming months, in June for the deathkult openair festival in Germany and in december for the Rites of Darkness part 3. About bst (guitar player) he has the order of appolyon (signed on listenable) as well as genital grinder (death metal), he’s about to have a split lp. InrVI is mostly busy with VI and should have a full lenght recorded this coming year on Agonia records. Aosoth should record two tracks maybe before the end of 2011.... time shall tell. For each plan we make, many problems rise and turn all into dust.

WULF: That is all the questions I have for you. Thank you again for taking the time to answer these questions. Good luck to you in the future! Anything else you would like to add to the interview at this time?

MkM: Hails to you for the support & having us in your zine.
AMSG
MkM

Interview with Herr Morbid of Forgotten Tomb!!

E-mail interview conducted in May 2011.
http://www.myspace.com/darknessinstereo

WULF: Congratulations on completing your first full-length album in roughly four years! I believe this to be quite a strong album. How has the reception been for “Under Saturn Retrograde” on your end?

HM: Thanx. You know, there's always someone complaining for something on every new album we release... We can't make everyone happy. We need to be happy ourselves with what we have accomplished with a new album, in the first place. If the others like it, that's great, otherwise it means they are not ready to understand our evolution. We are getting used to be misunderstood and ahead of trends. Most of people start to like our albums 3 years after their actual release-date. It happened the same with the previous album, "Negative Megalomania"... But of course there is also a lot of people who like our newer releases and we're getting a good feedback from both press and fans for the new album. It's still early though to take conclusions, the album has just been released in the USA so we're waiting for responses from there too.

WULF: Normally I prefer to try and figure out reasons for song titles and album titles on my own, but unfortunately my digital promo copy didn’t come with lyrics and I can’t find lyrics anywhere on the internet. Would you care to explain a bit about the album’s mysterious title?

HM: There's some meaning behind the album title-track and lyrics. As you might know, according to astrology the influence of Saturn retrograde has basically a very negative effect on life and personal achievements, and it's partly responsible for failures, pessimism and other negative sides of everyday' life. It is especially negative when it is in your natal chart. I'm also a Capricorn and Saturn is my ruling planet. Basically I used "Saturn retrograde" as a metaphor. It is meant as something like "being born under a bad star". I don't really believe in astrology but I thought the meaning was fitting to represent the sense of oppression and constant bad luck that followed me over my lifetime. The rest of the songs deal with different topics but each one has negativity and hostility as the main themes.

WULF: The album cover is clearly somewhat dark and disturbing, but also quite beautiful. Who is the artist? Would you care to explain your thoughts on the album cover?

HM: The author of the cover is the artist Dani2Hell. I was looking for a suitable cover for the new record, and watching the graphic works she made at that time I was struck by one in particular, so I asked if I could use it and she agreed. I was lucky, because that work suits the emotions portrayed by the album music very well. I then examined several versions of the same design with Dani2Hell and in the end we eventually chose the version that everyone can see now (the one without logo and with darker colors). Also, Dani2Hell had already made the sketches included in the booklet of our "Vol 5: 1999/2009" album, with excellent results, therefore I could say that so far the cooperation has been very fruitful. From my point of view, the figure represented on the front cover is a sort of angel of evil and iniquity, it's the rational embodiment of an irrational wickedness, which is deeply rooted within the human soul. It's pure evilness, that's why that figure on the cover has no visible face... Evil has no face, it's within each of us.

WULF: According to recent interviews you’ve expressed your songwriting being increasingly influenced over the past few years by bands such as Alice in Chains, Down, Acid Bath, etc. Although your cover of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” is quite well-done, I was surprised that you didn’t cover a band that was influential to you that was more “metallic” in style. Would you like to explain why you chose this particular song to cover? Also, since your cover was so well-executed, is there a chance that Forgotten Tomb will continue to cover more songs on future albums?

HM: We actually started this "bizarre covers" tradition on the "Vol 5: 1999/2009" double-album, with a couple of songs from Nirvana and Black Flag, as well as a Black Sabbath intro. They turned out great, so we decided to include another one on this new album. In the first place, I'm a Iggy/Stooges fan, and I like the nihilistic, self-destructive power oozing from that song. Originally I wanted to do something out of "Raw Power", since it's my favourite Iggy/Stooges album and one of my favourite albums of all time, though most of the material was not suitable with the rest of our songs. Also, we have chosen "I Wanna Be Your Dog" because it's more well-known and also because all the cover-versions we've heard from other bands really sucked (including the Slayer' one, yes). When Slayer did that cover they changed the lyrics to some macho-bullshit and I hated it. It was retarded. Iggy Pop hated it too. I think Iggy would like our version instead. I think we gave it an original Punk feeling, it sounds really nihilistic and violent. I even prefer it over the original! This would have been nearly impossible to do with the "Raw Power" songs, 'cause that album is fucking perfect as it is. Btw, we always choose to cover songs that are not strictly Metal 'cause we think it can be more interesting, both for us and for the audience. I mean, would you prefer another Darkthrone or Mayhem cover as all Black Metal bands do? I don't think so. Also, we listen to a lot of "non-Metal" stuff so we find more intriguing to cover songs like those and make 'em sound like one of our own songs.

WULF: Can we look forward to a Forgotten Tomb music video for a song off of “Under Saturn Retrograde”? Personally, I would choose “Reject Existence” because I feel that’s arguably the most catchy song (it’s seriously been stuck in my head for days now!) even though it has a quite negative message. Also, are there future plans for a DVD or anything like that?

HM: Actually there were plans to shoot the video for an edited version of that song. We'll see what happens. Time flies and there are lots of things to be taken care of, so we'll see if we can make it. A live DVD would be really cool too, but again, we'll see what happens before the end of this year. Maybe we'll record another full-lenght album before shooting a proper live DVD. It depends on the success of our new album.

WULF: I’ve noticed that your attitude and style in interviews over the years has changed considerably. I mean no disrespect, but it seems like you’ve become much more “mature”…what I mean by this is that eight years ago, you were strongly advocating suicide and embracing despair and negativity, whereas nowadays it seems like you’ve become somewhat more “laid-back” but still fixated on negativity. I also feel like this is directly reflected in your songwriting. While I haven’t heard earlier Forgotten Tomb albums, according to interviews and reviews it seems like your earlier material was more black metal-oriented…with “Under Saturn Retrograde”, while there is still a black metal influence, it is much more limited, and instead fits more comfortably in its own “depressive rock” style. Do you agree with this? Do you feel like Forgotten Tomb’s sound has matured with you these past few years?

HM: If you read all my lyrics and interviews since the beginning of the band you'll notice they changed and evolved. But of course I don't like a lot of things in life and society, and I'm basically a very negative and pessimistic person. The "leit-motiv" of my lyrics is more or less always the same. Obviously over the years people grow up and evolve, though I always believed in what I said over the years and I don't regret it. The glorification of negativity, death, hatred, pessimism, cynicism, homicide, suicide, abuse and in general of everything that is helpful to destroy human happiness and life is a recurring theme of our albums and imagery, now more than ever. Personal experiences had a role on some of my lyrics in the past but over the years I developed a more mature songwriting. I realized that I'm more useful as a tool to spread negative emotions. Of course there are always my personal thoughts and my vision of life portrayed in my lyrics, but the way of expressing them has changed. In the past some fans just used some of my lyrics as some sort of relief from their personal problems, but I never wanted this to happen. I've been totally misunderstood. I don't want to help people, my lyrics are not propedeuthic. I want to destroy people, I want them to increase their suffering and do harm to themselves and to others. That's why my lyrics have changed over the years. I don't wanna write for myself exclusively, I want the message to be loud and clear to all my listeners. You know, when you say these things and you're 20 years old people use to think you're a teenager trying to act evil, but when you're 30 years old and you still say the same things most probably it means you really mean it. I'll turn 31 this year so go figure... The musical evolution has nothing to do with our concept and attitude, we always listened to other kind of music even when we were more Black Metal-oriented.

WULF: By listening to this latest album, there’s no doubt in my mind that if you were to decide to tour North America you would be quite successful, as “Under Saturn Retrograde” seems like it has a much more accessible sound and wider appeal than many contemporary extreme metal bands. Are there any plans to come over here and wreak havoc?

HM: It's very difficult for bands like ours to play in the USA. We've been all around Europe several times and I'm pretty sure we'll play again quite a lot of gigs there this year, but I don't know about the rest of the world. If there are promoters interested in having us playing in the USA, we'll come of course. Our aim is to play live as much as possible, so I certainly hope to visit some countries where we haven't been before.

WULF: Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview! Any final words you would like to say?

HM: We're going to release very soon a split 7" with italian band Whiskey Ritual. Both bands will cover 3 songs each by GG Allin. It's gonna be a cool release. Then we'll focus on live-shows/tours and in the meantime I'll start writing some new material for the next album. To all our readers: buy our new album and get fucked up! Follow us through our usual channels: official website, MySpace, Facebook and Reverbnation. Stay Negative!

Interview with V.I.T.R.I.O.L. of Anaal Nathrakh!!

Phone interview conducted on April 22, 2011.
http://www.myspace.com/anaalnathrakh

Special thanks to Jackson "Mankvill" May for helping me out with questions!

WULF: OK, so I hate to start off with questions like this but I'm legitimately curious...how has the reception been so far for "Passion" on your end?

VITRIOL: It's been interesting, actually. There's only been a handful of reviews that I've seen so far because obviously the album's not out yet and the reviews are not creeping creeping out, but (some of the reviews that I've seen) didn't like it very much, which is a little less than ideal when you've made an album, but I've seen quite a number of more positive ones now. So broadly speaking, it's been quite good, there have been a few people that (didn't like it), but that's always going to happen. As for people close to us and everything, a lot of people have been very, very positive about it. A couple of people have said (it's) some the best songs that we've ever done. But yeah, so far, broadly speaking, we're happy. It's more important for us to be happy with the album ourselves because people will say what they like, but it's whether or not you can get on the album yourself that's got to be your guide. We're very happy with it, so that's the most important reaction as far as we're concerned.

WULF: Yeah, I would agree, but I wouldn't agree with the negative reviews. I found "Passion" to be just as fantastic as all the other Anaal Nathrakh albums. So, anyway, I don't know what they're talking about. I was definitely blown away.

VITRIOL: Well thank you, I'm glad you liked it. And it's not like all the reviews were (negative), just a couple, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

WULF: Well thank you, for what it's worth. But anyway, after getting the album repeated listens, judging by the song titles the subject matter on this new album is similar to other common themes on previous Anaal Nathrakh albums. However, were there any themes explored on "Passion" that were considered, lyrically, (as) new territory for the band? 2012 is looming ever-closer, after all...

VITRIOL: (laughs) Yeah, yeah. It is. We haven't got long left. (laughs) Yeah, there were a few new angles but a lot of it, (as) I've mentioned to one or two other people, had to do with a paper I read about the concept of horror, and understanding what horror was as opposed to terror or anything like that, and it has to do with the victim and the experience, becoming aware in the way that they've been changed or by the way they've been corrupted or otherwise altered by the experience. A lot of this stuff on the album is sort of vaguely related to (this) idea. So...

WULF: Interesting. That's pretty fascinating.

VITRIOL: It's more about understanding the way in which the world and things in it and evil out there and everything has an effect on you as an individual, and that effect can be ruinous, but at the same time coming, in some self-disposing way, to
desire it in some ways. So that's particularly the theme of the second song, for example. So, yeah...I could go on for hours if you like, but yeah, those sorts of ideas are kind of new for us. It's a bit of a different spin rather than just "the world's shit and we all deserve to die".
(laughs)

WULF: Right, right...and while I know that Irrumator, or Mick (Kenney) writes all of the music and you write all of the lyrics, I don't want to put words in Mick's mouth, but does he share attitudes or ideas similar to yours that are reflected in Anaal Nathrakh's music?

VITRIOL: Well, it depends in way you mean thoughts and ideas, but obviously, musically we're of like mind. We wouldn't be writing together still after a fair amount of time and still keep coming up with great stuff, so musically we're on the same page. In terms of the more ideological stuff, that's mostly me, but he might be slightly less...I don't know, how could you say it? Wrathfully pessimistic about everything?
(laughs)
But there's a vaguely similar sort of undercurrent that we do share, so yeah, as much as it is Mick writing the music and I do a lot of the writing and the lyrics, there is a sort of permeable barrier between the two of us. We're both compatible with the way the other one does whatever it is that they do. So it is sort of a genuine synthesis, I suppose, you might say. Different, but mutually complementary things. Does that make sense?

WULF: Yeah, that makes sense to me! I was just curious, because especially (by) reading past Anaal Nathrakh interviews and stuff there's definitely a...I don't know...pessimistic...misanthropic...(attitude)? I don't know, that's the sense that I got. I wasn't sure as far as if Mick was equally so, on that level.

VITRIOL: Yeah, he's probably not quite as (inaudible) as I am.
(laughs)
But we're compatible in that way.

WULF: Right, right. So on a quick separate note, what have you been reading recently? Did this play any role, as far as lyrics go, on "Passion"?

VITRIOL: Well, for the past few months I haven't really had much choice about what I was reading because I was doing a university course. So in the immediate past, everything I've been reading has been the philosophy of language and things to do with the definition of happiness and stuff like that. So I suppose, in a way, it does sort of (influence) me a little bit, but no, it's not directly relevant. The stuff I read that's relevant at the time for stuff on the album...I said this in interviews at the time for the last album it was a book called Moment of Freedom, and that was the first book of the trilogy, and one of the songs on this album was influenced by the second book of the trilogy, called Powderhouse. There's also some stuff by a German guy called Max Stirner who was writing in the 1800s or 1830s-40s, and that was the influence on the song "Paragon Pariah". There's stuff about multiple personality disorder and the reintegration of personalities into one core personality. That's what the one with the German title on this album ("Tod Huetet Uebel") is about. So it's more bits and pieces rather than one book or something that had a massive impact and took over the album. It's bits and pieces of various different things, but I've read quite a lot of interesting stuff, I've been lucky to have found it, so the bits and pieces are there and are also fascinating.

WULF: Yeah, I'd love to check out some of the stuff you're talking about, because especially with the multiple personality thing, I've always been really fascinated by that. Just out of curiosity, if you don't mind...what are you studying at the university?

VITRIOL: A Master's degree in philosophy. It's reasonably (inaudible) stuff, but I just find it interesting.

WULF: Me too. I actually just graduated myself...undergraduate degree. I'm not ready for graduate school quite yet, but that's pretty cool!

VITRIOL: What was the undergraduate degree?

WULF: History.

VITRIOL: Alright, OK. That's a (inaudible) for post-grad study if you ever do go onto it.

WULF: Yeah it is. (laughs) I'll probably have to if I do want to do anything.

VITRIOL: (laughs) Yeah, that's the thing.

WULF: So you mentioned, actually, off of "Passion", the German song and unfortunately I haven't taken much classes in German, so if I try to pronounce it I might butcher it, but man, I was curious...how in the fuck did you guys hook up with Rainer (Landfermann) from Bethlehem and Pavor?!

VITRIOL: Crazy voice, isn't it?

WULF: I haven't heard anything (by him) except his vocals on Bethlehem's "Dictius te Necare" but his vocals on that are absolutely insane and I'd say a perfect fit for Anaal Nathrakh's music because it's a much different vocal style than yours but quite intense just the same. So how did this guest appearance come to fruition?

VITRIOL: It was largely the same for us. We heard that Bethlehem album you just mentioned and we thought it was...well, you probably used the best word to describe it, it was really crazy. We've always been fans of what he'd done with that, it was just so out there and so...the (British English) word would be "barmy", essentially it means "crazy", so we just thought, "screw it, we'll just ask him!" So we tried to get ahold of him, and he's not the easiest man to get ahold of, but I eventually managed to track down the band that he's in now, which is a death metal band called Pavor in Germany, and they're a fairly unusual sort of band, they put out like...one EP every eight years
(laughs)
and (inaudible) signed to a record label, they're a fairly individual sort of thing, themselves. I sent an e-mail to the band contact up there on their website saying who we were and that we'd been blown away by his work on the Bethlehem album and some of the stuff he's done since, because he has bits and pieces of his vocals in Pavor even though he's not the main singer, (and asked) "would you be interested in it?" And he came back to us saying "possibly, but I'm going to need to know that it's something I can really get behind and it's something I can totally get on-board with and an idea of" and he asked me to give an idea of what we were thinking of for the song. So we sent him some music back and I sent him this quite long written-out version of the idea I had for the song, and then he replied, saying, "this is brilliant! I love the idea! I've just spent four hours arranging vocal parts for it!" And he just took the idea and ran with it. He just took off. So it was fantastic to have someone that was just so enthusiastic about it. He was blown away by the idea and then he turned around and blew us away back. So yeah, it was just about chatting to him and asking him about the idea.

WULF: Man! Well I think that was brilliant on your part because when I saw that HE was going to be on the album according to the press release, I was like, man...I didn't know of any vocals that he had done besides (his work) with Bethlehem, so I was crossing my fingers, saying "please let this be vocals!" And when that song came on, sure enough, I was like, "that's my man, right there!"
(laughs)

VITRIOL: Yeah, I mean, that's what we were like when we got this track back from him, because obviously we didn't know what he was going to do with it, so we were waiting to hear it ourselves, and then we played it and just thought, "yes! That is EXACTLY what we wanted this man to do! That is brilliant!" And so we loved it, we thought it was great.

WULF: Had he not heard of Anaal Nathrakh before?

VITRIOL: He'd heard the name. He wasn't overly familiar with us, I don't think, but not too long before we asked him we had played a show not in the town he lives in in Germany but not all that far away, and he said one of his friends had been. So he was aware of us.

WULF: I would just be surprised because I would think that if you guys had contacted him he would have just jumped on-board immediately, so that just kind of struck me as weird, but I'm really glad that it all came through.

VITRIOL: I'm kind of glad that it happened the way that it did because it meant (inaudible) when he said, "OK, I might be up for it", and it meant that he was taking it seriously and what we put to him was good stuff. So I'm kind of glad that he wasn't just, "yeah I'll do it!" It was nice to have someone work on the idea a little bit.

WULF: Right. OK, so I've got a couple more questions here if that's OK, because I know that you're probably really busy. If Mick still lives in California and you live in England...you've probably answered this before, but how much time do you spend writing and rehearsing if Mick writes the music and you write the lyrics separately?

VITRIOL: When it comes to making albums we spend not a great deal of time working on stuff. There's pretty much no rehearsing, though, because we put it together in the studio. So Mick writes literally a whole album's worth of music and I prepare...well, I've prepared 20 albums worth of ideas and bits of lyrics and stuff like that, and then we just go in together and do it in the studio at the time. So we can talk over the internet and that kind of thing but we don't particularly need to be physically in the same room until we get to the studio phase of it. For live stuff, obviously it's a bit more difficult, but as it stands at the time he's the only member of the live band who isn't available here in Birmingham where I am, so I just get everyone together and rehearse without Mick until he can get over. But the thing is, not only is he a talented guitarist and doesn't find it difficult to pick stuff up, (but) he wrote the damn songs!
(laughs)
He should have a pretty good idea of how they go, so we (go over the songs) and jam for a couple of days.

WULF: OK, so forgive me if this is wrong, but as far as I can tell, you guys have only one official music video, and so as far as you know, will you be shooting a music video for a song off of "Passion"? How do you feel about music videos?

VITRIOL: I don't know, really. We're not particularly interested in trying to get heavy rotation on MTV or anything. If it happens then I'm sure it's a great thing and I'm sure it's lovely but it doesn't upset if we're not doing that so we don't feel the need to try and push for something like that. But at the same time, it is kind of fun, we did do one for the last album, you're right. The only one. It was just a different creative idea for us because we had to come up with the ideas for it and work with who was shooting it to try and make it what we had our in our heads, which was just a new thing because we weren't used to working in video, so it was cool to have a try. I don't know whether we'll do one for this one. As far as I know, our contract with Candlelight does have a provision to doing one, but we've been so focused on getting the album out and putting a few tour dates together and stuff that we just haven't gotten around to that yet, but it would be nice. It would be cool to do another one if the opportunity comes along. So yeah, fingers crossed.

WULF: Alright, and you mentioned tour dates, so my last question then, would be...I understand that you've got a few dates that are going to be here in the United States, or at least just a couple? Am I mistaken?

VITRIOL: Not yet...we're just in the early stages of working out to do that. At the moment we've got a few dates in the UK, and then we go off into mainland Europe, and that's what we've been doing up till now, but in the past couple of days we've started to figure out whether it's viable to get back to the States because we played in California about six weeks ago or so...so we would like, if it's at all possible, to get back there, but we have no concrete plans yet. Hopefully, but we'll have to see what happens here.

WULF: Alright, well, for what it's worth, if you ever want to come to the Midwest here I know that's probably not in the cards, at least not for this album...
(laughs)
I live smack in the middle of the country, a lot of times bands on limited tours hardly ever make it out here.

VITRIOL: That's one thing that interests me about touring...I like to go to interesting places. To me, America is one big, whole, interesting place because I've never been to most of it, (just) parts of it. But I would like to see the places that bands don't always play. It would be cool. Whether it would be possible, I don't know, but we would be happy to go and play in Kansas or (wherever), but it would be an interesting, different thing to see.

WULF: I was going to joke and ask if you guys were ever coming to Kansas because that's where I am.
(laughs)
Alright man, well that's all the questions I have for you. I know you're probably really busy. Do you have anything else you'd like to say, any last words?

VITRIOL: Not particularly, not particularly. Whatever happens, maybe, you never know, we may turn up in Kansas one day.
(laughs)